Access to birth control is an issue I care deeply about. Men seriously need more options to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Perhaps one of the reasons I care so much is because I live in Los Angeles, a city teeming with gold diggers who can weaponize a pregnancy faster than they can list the names of the Kardashian sisters. More likely though, I simply empathize with the fear of unplanned pregnancy.

As a woman, unplanned pregnancy seriously scares the shit out of me. There are numerous reasons for this, and you can find any feminist blog to tell you why my right to contraception and my right to an abortion are so essential to my quality of life. I am tremendously grateful for 1972’s Eisenstadt v. Baird for ruling in favor of my right to possess contraception and 1973’s Roe v. Wade for establishing my right to have an abortion. I am profoundly lucky to live in a time where an unwanted pregnancy does not have to change my life irreversibly.

But I am reminded that men don’t have that right.

In the past, there was, among some, a sentiment that men have the orgasms, and women have the babies. In a time when a woman inevitably had to carry and bear a child whether or not she wanted to, it made sense to demand that the father also be responsible and provide for his child. However, the groundbreaking court cases that won women the right to prevent or terminate a pregnancy also brought us a bit of a predicament; a woman can choose not to be a parent, but if she chooses to become a parent, the father has no legal say in whether or not he becomes one also.

Now, men have absolutely no right to determine what a woman does with her body. Her right to have an abortion—or not—is solidly her decision and hers alone, for it is her body that bears the consequences of either option. However, in the interest of self-ownership, men have a stake: the reward for their work (their pay) being taken to support a child they did not want.

I’m not sure if we need to look at sperm donor legislation or adoption procedures for our standards reference or exactly what stipulations need to be in place, but I am willing to hear ideas and am happy to support good ones. In the meantime, there’s not enough conversation about this and how we can solve the problem of unwanted fatherhood. I’m happy to see more options for male contraception, and I hope men realize that women who fear unwanted pregnancy can be terrific allies on the topic.

Ultimately, forced fatherhood has no place in a free society. I am profoundly grateful that I will never be forced to be a parent against my will; it’s time to make sure that everybody can say the same.

About the author

Avens O'Brien is a second-generation libertarian residing in Los Angeles, where she manages financial operations at Thoughtful Media Group, a digital media advertising start-up company featured in Euro Pacific Capital's accredited investment portfolio. She thinks civil and economic liberty are equally essential to the human spirit. Her anti-war protesting had her campaigning and volunteering for Michael Badnarik (LP) in 2004 and Ron Paul (R) in 2008, and she was Vice Chair of the New Hampshire Libertarian Party from 2006–2008. She's a Twitter and Facebook agitator turned writer, contributing columns for DL Magazine, and Thoughts on Liberty, as well as articulating life experiences and their inspired philosophical thoughts on her personal blog: Taste it Twice. You can meet her at Freedom Fest in Las Vegas every year, or at Burning Man if you're that wild.

About Us

We are a team of ladies writing about freedom. We want to make it clear why everyone, but especially women, should appreciate what liberty does for them. We are also writing to the liberty movement, because sometimes our voices get lost in the crowd.

Writers here might agree on occasion. Other times they will debate. They will sometimes write about women. Sometimes they won’t. That is the nature of individualism; everyone has a story to tell, and we are here to let women tell theirs.